Labor needs to rethink asylum seeker policy Date January 3, 2014 A new year should see Labor take some moral leadership on the treatment of refugees. Syrian refugees outside a makeshift home in Ankara. Photo: AFP The start of a year is all about new beginnings, so here’s my New Year’s submission: with fresh new leadership […]
Soccer’s no place for anti-Semitic salutes Date January 2, 2014 Kavitha Davidson Sport and politics are a poor mix, with the latest incident in England highlighting soccer’s inability to reconcile racial issues. Illustration: John Spooner. French soccer player Nicolas Anelka spurred controversy on Saturday after flashing what supporters have called an innocuous gesture in celebration […]
Centuries-old dispute haunts Sochi Olympics Date January 2, 2014 James Barry North Caucasians have long railed against Russia’s rubbery notions of people and place. A bomb ripped apart this bus in Volgograd this week, killing 14 people. Photo: Reuters Why would a Chechen war widow become a suicide bomber in Volgograd? Why would Chechens attack the […]
In Australia, 15,000 people die a year due to tobacco use. The fight has not been won yet, but our plain packaging policy works and should be defended  Monday 23 December 2013 Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco still cause 15,000 deaths a year in Australia. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Julia Gillard A family friend recently told […]
We need to talk about TED Science, philosophy and technology run on the model of American Idol – as embodied by TED talks – is a recipe for civilisational disaster  Monday 30 December 2013 Alain de Botton speaks during during TEDGlobal 2011, in Edinburgh. Photograph: James Duncan Davidson/TED Benjamin Bratton In our culture, talking about […]
(by Tom  Butler-Bowdon) Revisited January 1, 2014 First, a disclaimer: I’m impressed with the early Christian evangelist Paul’s market-place dialogue with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens (Acts 17): although he disagreed with many of their presuppositions he was willing to quote their poets when he agreed with them. I believe strongly that our Christian apologetic should […]
Who was the worst troll of 2013? Heard something inflammatory and outrageous this year? Odds are one of this lot said it. So in a head head-to-head contest, who’s the most horrible troll of them all?  Monday 30 December 2013 18.00 EST Game of trolls … the contestants. Illustrations: Toby Triumph Stuart Heritage Don’t feed the trolls. […]
I recently read a modern day story about the true meaning of Christmas. Titled “Heart of the Slums”, it was a compelling account of a Melbourne family, the Barkers, who have embedded themselves for the last 12 years in Bangkok ‘s largest slum, Klong Toey, to embody and make tangible the divine love that came […]
Belgians Think So By Elisabeth Braw / December 05 2013 Belgian lawmakers are set to let children decide whether they should die for their own good.   Sebastian Rose/Getty Images Jutte van den Werff Ten Bosch has already had the talk with her 10-year-old son. Several times, in fact. No, not the sex talk. The euthanasia talk. “Even if he said, ‘I want […]
December 20, 2013 We all lose something precious if a tradition dating back 2000 years is allowed to disappear. Illustration: John Spooner. I have for some time now been deeply troubled by the growing difficulties faced by Christian communities in various parts of the Middle East. It seems to me that we cannot ignore the […]